Tuesday, May 31, 2011

This is the last post in this 3-part presentation of highlights from a "summer bargins" Chicago Mail Order Co. catalog. We've seen shoes and hats and bloomers and slips, now it's time to see the new vogue styles from over 75 years ago! Whether your thing is scintillating stripes, flock-dots, Wafflecloths, or Canton Crepe, you are/were sure to be THE chic Style Queen of 1935 --satisfaction guaranteed or your money back, since 1889! And you better hurry, sale ends August 31st. 1935.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Picking up where we left off in the sheer and silky sleek department of our last Chicago Mail Order Company '35 post, it's time, ladies, to slip your pretty lil tootsies into a fetching pair of stylish footwear! So if the slender, illustrated ankles and smashing prices don't take your breath away, how about the dynamic design, coloring and page lay-outs? And hold onto your hats-- we've got those too!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Excerpts from a Chicago Mail Order Company catalog dated 1935, with a first part focus on slips, bloomers and hosiery for the ladies. Stunning lay-out, design, and illustrations, this is a true gem in my collection of old catalogs, and I'll be posting more from it as this month slowly winds down. Would anyone else have a problem living in an era where the women looked like either Fay Wray, Vivien Leigh or Myrna Loy? Time machine-- take me away!!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Things I am terrible at: hula hooping, ice skating, furniture assembly, hunting, understanding women, understanding men, understanding my mom, and last but not least-- working a yo-yo! And as hard as I try, I suppose it's just time to admit that even this super fun yo-yo trick booklet put out by Donald F. Duncan in 1962 won't help me... but maybe it will help you, and if not, then you can at least do what I do and look at the groovy illustrations and wonderful lettering styles.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Whatever it's doing in your part of the world, my sector has only just now gotten beyond the cold, wet, and dreary phase of fake spring (finally), and now the sun is out, it's hot, it's bright, and-- it's BUGGY!﻿ So as a helpful service announcement, here are a variety of ways to fight back against the icky creepy crawlies, thanks to two old 1950's pamphlets from REAL-KILL bug killer. (FYI: Even if you have a fearful phobia of bugs, there are some fun drawings on some of the pages below.)

Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Topps Flying Things series (70's) consisted of fragile funny planes that came unassembled inside a nicely illustrated package, and sold for dirt cheap. Once put together, you threw it into the air, and if you were lucky you got about 20 seconds of actual play out of it before the ultra flimsy, lightweight material shattered into pieces on the driveway, or against a tree. This of course didn't stop you from buying a couple more and continuing on with the best other 20 seconds of your life. Here are two 90's knock-offs I recently aquired in a trade, and for anyone interested, I have noticed some originals available on ebay as I posted this.

About Me

Editor / co-editor of IDW's Chilling Archives of Horror Comic Books: ZOMBIES, RETURN OF THE ZOMBIES, and DEVIL TALES, as well as co-host of the bi-monthly HAUNTED HORROR comic series and HAUNTED LOVE miniseries. (All image scans and photography by me from items found in my own personal collection-- except where noted.)